With its benign climate, fresh water and abundant fruit, the island setting of Lord of the Flies could be seen as a modern Garden of Eden until... a little boy comes forward in Chapter 2 and asks the assembly questions. What element does he introduce to the island? How does he describe it? How does the descriptive phrase, "the small boy twisted further into himself" hint at a theme? Which theme? How does this theme connect to societies of today and of all times? Give specific examples. (This post closes at midnight on Sunday, 18 April 2010)
2 comments:
The little boy informs the assembly that they are indeed the only people on the island. He depicts the island as an island without any other islands near, just water. Piggy brings fear to the island when he states that there are no adults and that nobody knows they are on the island. Ralph depicts the positive side of the island; he states, "But, this is a good island." He even illustrates the island as one that could be found in a book. Before the little boy “twisted further into himself”, he tried to tell the others about the ‘beastie.’ His reaction helps hint at the fact society always listens more to the higher ranked humans than to the lower ranked humans. It helps demonstrate the theme of supremacy of society. For example, in high school, there are students who are leaders and students who are followers. Since there are many followers and different types of leaders, many followers will follow in the footsteps of the ‘cool’ leader that believes partying is better than learning in school. In other words, society chooses to follow in the footsteps of the popular ideas rather than the moral ideas.
GG-0
All the boys in Lord of the Flies are excited about their island play-land until something makes them realize that this paradise might not be so perfect after all. At a meeting, a little boy with a mulberry-colored birthmark asks about “the snake-thing.” He wants to know if “the beastie” will be back. It came in the dark, was “ever so big,” wanted to eat him, and in the morning “turned into them things like ropes in the trees and hung in the branches.” His vague descriptions of this monster heighten the fear surrounding its existence, and the little boy with the mulberry birthmark introduces terror to the island. When the other boys laugh at him, “the small boy twisted further into himself.” His fear and embarrassment exclude him from the group of rowdy boys, and the word “twisted” implies discomfort and evil (a sinister snake advances with a twisting motion). This suggests a theme of alienation as well as a theme of isolation through fear. Showing fear in front of the entire society causes discomfort and more fear—fear of being embarrassed again. Therefore, fright becomes an inward, lonely struggle, in turn isolating its victim even more. This happens in every society. There is always something to fear, and there is always one in the group to fear it. A single boy in a group of vandalizing teenagers fears discovery and punishment, but cannot fight peer pressure. A soldier in the Confederate Army is terrified of having to use his rifle on another human being. A mother on the Oregon Trail clutches her baby and listens in terror for sounds of rumored wolf attacks. A girl who in the fourth grade still fears monsters under her bed is forced to fend them off alone; no one will come to her rescue. When isolation is a contender, society cannot emerge victorious in the battle. In Lord of the Flies, the little boy with the mulberry birthmark is left alone… and he disappears from the island, from society, and from existence.
JJ-0
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